


The Start of Forever

by OneOfThoseCrazyGirls



Series: What Should’ve Been [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode: s03e23 My Name is Oliver Queen, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Post-Season/Series 03, Pre-Season/Series 04, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-10-11 14:54:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17449157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneOfThoseCrazyGirls/pseuds/OneOfThoseCrazyGirls
Summary: Takes place during the summer between seasons 3 and 4.This fic is part of the What Should’ve Been ‘verse. You can read it as it’s own thing, if you want, but it ties in to the ‘verse as a whole.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Unlike The Road Not Taken, this fic is NOT canon divergent. (Like I said, the canon divergence doesn’t start until season 4.)
> 
> This one-shot might turn into a multi-chapter because I have a few other ideas for what might’ve gone on during Olicity’s summer vacation between seasons 3 and 4.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“So, we’re just gonna pick up and leave? Just like that? Kill Ra’s, take down the League, and then just leave?” Felicity asked, bewildered.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Oliver replied with a shrug.

They had been through a lot. Like Felicity had just said, Oliver had just killed Ra’s al Ghul and the team had just taken down the League of Assassins and Oliver just wanted to...leave. Just like that.

“Well, at least tell me where we’re going so I know what to pack.”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”

Felicity was starting to get frustrated with his nonchalant attitude. She was a _planner_ , she didn’t do things spontaneously. “Well, if we’re actually _leaving_ leaving, then I need to make plans with Ray and...oh what am I gonna do about my house?”

Oliver placed his hand gently on Felicity’s cheek and forced her to meet his eyes. “Hey. We’re not leaving right this second. I still have a couple things I need to take care of myself. I was hoping we would leave tomorrow night. In the meantime, do whatever you need to do.” Oliver gave her a soft smile and she gave him a nod in return. But Felicity could tell there was something deeper, something he wasn’t saying aloud.

“What is it?” Felicity asked. But Oliver didn’t answer, just continued to stare at her. “Tell me.” She gently prodded.

“It’s just...” Oliver trailed off with a sigh, but finally continued. “Maybe the reason you’re so hesitant is because you don’t actually _want_ to go with me.”

Felicity searched her brain for some words to reassure him, but she kept coming up short. Everything she could think of, she knew he’d be able to talk himself out of believing it. So instead she settled for an action. They’re supposed to speak louder than words anyway. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. It wasn’t long before their lips parted and the kiss deepened.

Eventually, Felicity had to—reluctantly—pull herself away when she remembered that there were still some things she needed to do. A little breathless and with her cheeks ever-so-slightly flushed, she backed away from Oliver, but stayed close enough that they were still within arms reach of each other. “Okay, I have some packing to do, but I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

A wide smile spread across Oliver’s face and he leaned down to give her another chaste kiss. “See you tomorrow night.”

Felicity walked away and decided to head to Ray’s apartment to talk to him first before she headed back to her own place to pack.

Felicity got to her Mini Cooper that was sitting in the parking garage of Palmer Tech. Just as she was about to start the car, however, the excitement of everything that had just happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Two hours ago, the city was on the brink of a biological attack. As crazy as it sounded, Felicity had pretty much gotten used to this the past three years. One minute, you’re in a life-or-death situation and the next minute it’s all over and you’re going home. This had become her normal.

Eventually, Felicity started up her car and headed towards Ray’s apartment.

Felicity only had to knock once before he answered. She was still in the clothes she had been wearing all night, but he had changed into sweats and a t-shirt and it looked like he had even showered.

“Hi.” Felicity greeted him softly with a small wave. “How are you?”

“I somehow feel energized and exhausted all at the same time. Is this always what it’s like after you save the city?” Ray asked. “Please come in.” He added and held the door open for her to step inside.

“Pretty much.” Felicity answered as she entered his apartment. “After the Undertaking, I went home and ate an entire pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. And after the siege, I ate a gallon.” Felicity said with a chuckle. “I know it can be weird to do everything we just did and then just go home. But you get used to it, I promise.”

There was a brief pause before Ray spoke again. “I thought you and Oliver would be miles away by now.”

Felicity let out a slightly awkward, breathy chuckle. “Uh no. Not yet. We’re leaving tomorrow night. That’s actually why I’m here though. Apparently, I’m leaving town and I don’t know when, or even _if_ , I’m coming back.”

“Is that what you want?” Ray asked. “I don’t mean to stand between you and Oliver being together, I think I’ve done that enough already, I just want to make sure you’re going with him because it’s what _you_ want and not because it’s just what _he_ wants.” Ray elaborated.

“All I know...” Felicity began, “is that, ever since I’ve known Oliver, he’s always had trouble reconciling these two sides of himself, and if I can help him do that, then that’s what I want.”

“Then I’m happy for you. Truly.” Ray said with a smile that Felicity knew was genuine. “And, if you ever do come back, your job will be waiting for you. I promise.”

“Thank you, Ray.” Felicity gave him s smile and he gave her a nod in return. “And Ray...I want you to know that I don’t regret us. I know it may seem like I was only with you because I couldn’t be with Oliver, but that’s not true. I did care about you. I _do_ care about you. You helped me realize that I deserve to be with someone who wants to be with me and treats me as an equal. So thank you for that.” Felicity gave him another smile, but then couldn’t resist and decided to wrap him up in a hug. “I’m gonna miss you, Ray.” She whispered into his ear.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Felicity.”

With one last squeeze and a light peck on the cheek, Felicity let go and then headed for his door to see herself out. “Now I have to call my mother. _Yay_.” She spoke aloud letting the sarcasm through on the last word.

“Good luck with that.” Ray said with a cheeky smile.

She shot him a glare and a smile and then promptly left his apartment.

Felicity went straight from Ray’s place to her own. She didn’t know what to pack so she decided to just pack as much as she could fit into the two suitcases she owned. She figured she could just buy anything she couldn’t bring with her. As she was packing, a thought occurred to her and she knew that she needed to talk to Ray again. She called his number and he answered after two rings.

“What am I gonna do about my house?” Felicity asked in lieu of a greeting.

“What?” Ray asked.

“Well, if I’m leaving for good, what am I gonna do about my house?”

“Well...um...is it all payed for?”

“No. I just moved in like a year and a half ago. Before then I was living in a studio apartment in the Glades. This house was like a gift to myself.I had been living in the city for 4 years so I thought it was time to buy a house and start investing in my future, and now I’m just gonna leave it. I really like this house.” Felicity pouted, even though Ray couldn’t see her.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll take care of everything. Leave me the house, I’ll sell it, and I’ll try to make sure you get as much of your money back as possible.”

“You can really do that?” Felicity asked.

“I think so.” Ray said. “You said you leave tomorrow night, right?”

“Yeah.” Felicity confirmed.

“Okay, well, I’ll make some calls and then whenever you’re done packing, stop by Palmer Tech and we can make the arrangements,”

Felicity let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you so much Ray! You’re the best.”

“Well, I try.” Ray said and Felicity could hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll see you soon then.”

“Yeah, see you soon. I’ll text you when I’m done packing.”

“Sounds good.” Ray said before they said their goodbyes and hung up.

The phone call to Ray reminded Felicity that she still needed to call her mom. Felicity let out a groan at the thought and decided that she should just bite the bullet and do it.

She clicked her mom’s contact info to dial her number. It rang so long Felicity was afraid—or maybe relieved—that it would go to voicemail, but at the last minute, her mom answered.

“Hey sweetie!” Her mom’s cheery—and loud—voice rang through her phone’s speaker.

“Hey Mom, are you busy right now?” Felicity asked.

“No. I actually just got home from the diner. My shift at the casino doesn’t start for another two hours so I have some time. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving Starling for a while...or possibly forever, I’m not really sure to be honest.”

“Um...okay. Well, where are you going?” Her mom asked, and Felicity could tell she was genuinely confused.

“I’m actually not sure.” Felicity admitted.

“So, you’re just leaving town for no reason and you don’t even know where you’re going? Are you okay, baby? This isn’t like you.”

“I’m fine, Mom. It’s just Oliver—“ but Felicity was cut off by the sound of her mom gasping on the other end.

“Wait are you leaving _with_ _Oliver_?!” Felicity could hear the excitement in her mom’s voice as she said the last two words.

Felicity tried to fight it, but she just couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at the thought. “Yeah.”

There was a long pause and Felicity began to worry that her mom might’ve passed out. “Mom? Are you still there?”

There was another brief pause, but then her mom finally answered. “Yeah, I’m here. So does that mean you and Oliver are together?” Her mom sounded so excited, her last word came out as more of a squeak.

“Yeah...I think so.” It wasn’t until then that Felicity wondered if they were actually together or not. She supposed so. If they were—for all intents and purposes—running away together then they must be a couple.

“I wanna see you.” Her mom blurted out all of the sudden.

“What?” Felicity asked.

“You said you two were leaving town...come to Vegas. I want to see you. I’ll get some time off work so that we’ll have time to spend together. I wanna meet Oliver.”

“You’ve already met Oliver, Mom.” Felicity pointed out.

“Yeah, but that was months ago and that was before you and him were together.”

“I don’t know, Mom. He might have a whole plan he just hasn’t told me about. Vegas might be totally out of the way.” Felicity tried to come up with a good excuse to get her out of this visit without hurting her mom’s feelings.

“Then make a detour! I’m sure Oliver won’t mind.”

Felicity wracked her brain trying to come up with some kind of excuse, but when she wasn’t able to find one, she sighed in defeat and nodded her head. “Okay fine. I’ll tell Oliver. It’ll probably be a couple days before we get there, but I’ll call you when we’re close.” After all, what harm could a one or two day visit to her mother’s be?

Felicity had to pull her phone away from her ear as she heard her mom shriek on the other end. “Yay!! I can’t wait! I’ll see you in a couple days! I love you!” Donna sing-songed into the phone.

“Love you too, Mom. See you in a couple days.” Felicity said before hanging up the phone.

Once the phone call with her mom was over, Felicity was going to resume her packing, but was so exhausted she just wanted to curl up in bed and fall asleep. She checked her phone to see that it was after midnight so she decided to leave the rest of her packing for later and get some sleep.

=====

The next morning, Felicity woke up a little startled, wondering if she slept through her alarm...until she remembered that she didn’t set an alarm because she and Oliver were leaving town tonight so there was no need for her to be awake early.

A small smile spread across Felicity’s face as she thought about leaving with Oliver. It was strange because, normally, she wasn’t like this at all. She wasn’t the type of girl that would just uproot her entire life for a guy. But she couldn’t help feeling that this just seemed _right_.

What she had told Ray last night about helping Oliver reconcile the two sides of himself was true. He had spent the pastseven months pushing her away because he didn’t think he could be Oliver Queen and the Arrow. Of course, he was still not technically reconciling them because, this time, he was just choosing to live as Oliver Queen instead of the Arrow—which was basically just the opposite of what he had been doing—but the fact that he was letting himself be happy for once was a start.

When she joined his crusade, it didn’t take long for her to notice how lonely he was. And it also didn’t take long for her to start falling for him. Ironically, her feelings really developed when he was dating McKenna Hall. She actually wasn’t jealous of McKenna at all. In fact, despite her burgeoning feelings, she actually liked them together. Because she could tell that Oliver was genuinely happy. McKenna was a bright spot in his dark life. He was just _lighter_ when they were together. And she hated to see how devastated he was after they broke up. He wasn’t really in love with her or anything, but when she left, it was like he was being plunged back into total darkness. It was then that Felicity realized that she never wanted to see Oliver upset like that again. Even if it wasn’t with her, she wanted Oliver to be happy because, after everything he’d been through, he was more than deserving of happiness. That’s why she never approved of Isabel. Even if Isabel hadn’t turned out to be evil, Felicity knew that Isabel would never make Oliver happy for more than one night. And then Sara came back and she and Oliver got back together...Felicity would admit that that was a bit more complicated. She really liked Sara and Oliver was obviously happy with her, but by that point, Felicity was head over heels in love and it did pain her more than she would care to admit to see Oliver so happy with someone else. Felicity even began to feel a little pathetic; she was usually not the type of girl to hopelessly pine for a guy. But after their disastrous first date, Felicity stopped feeling bad for herself and started feeling bad for Oliver. It was just so frustrating—why could Oliver not see that he was just as deserving of happiness as anyone else; if not more so. Felicity will admit that there was a brief moment where she let her frustration get the better of her and thought that if he was going to push her away when all she wanted was to be with him, then maybe he didn’t deserve happiness after all. It wasn’t her proudest moment. But now here they were. Oliver was finally allowing her to love him the way she wanted to and allowing himself to _be_ loved.

Felicity was drastically pulled out of her thoughts when her phone rang, indicating that she got a text.

**Oliver:** Good morning, beautiful. :)

Immediately, a huge grin spread across Felicity’s face and she even let out a little giggle as she read his text.

_Oh_ _my_ _god_ _I’ve_ _regressed_ _to_ _a_ _teenage_ _girl_ _with_ _a_ _stupid_ _crush!_

Before she could answer his text, he sent another one.

**Oliver:** Open your door

Felicity pulled herself out of bed and went to her door, still in her pajamas.

She opened the front door to see Oliver standing there with a bag of what she hoped was breakfast and a tray with two coffee cups in it.

“Good morning.” Oliver greeted her with a smile. “I got breakfast...” he said indicating to the bag, “...and coffee.” He added, indicating to the coffees.

Felicity took the bag from him and walked towards her kitchen, leaving the door open for Oliver to come in. He did and, while she was sorting through the bag of food, she heard her front door close behind her. Moments later she saw the coffees being set down on the counter out of the corner of her eye and then she felt Oliver’s arms wrap around her waist.

“Morning.” Oliver mumbled as he placed a kiss in the crook of her neck. She was wearing a camisole so her shoulders were completely exposed...which he seemed to appreciate because he kept peppering kisses all over her shoulder and neck.

“You already said that.” Felicity pointed out, trying to keep calm as he was lighting her skin on fire with his touch.

“Did I?” Oliver said between kisses.

“Yes.” Felicity answered. “Once in your text a few minutes ago, and then a second time when I opened the door.”

“Oh sorry. I guess I was a bit distracted.” Oliver breathed out between even more, deeper, kisses.

Felicity decided to give as well as she got and ground her hips against Oliver’s crotch causing him to let out a groan that gave her wicked delight.

Oliver soon captured Felicity’s lips in a deep kiss and, just moments later, he was sliding his tongue across her bottom lip, silently asking her to part her lips. She happily obliged and soon his tongue was massaging hers.

As completely cheesy as it sounded, Felicity was in absolute _heaven_. In her whole life, no one had ever kissed her like Oliver did.

Felicity didn’t think it was possible to be this happy.

She had been in love before, back in college she loved Cooper. But this was different. She used to imagine a future with Cooper but it was never a very long one. She would imagine them moving in together after college—which is what they had planned to do before the hack and his arrest—but she never pictured what their life would be like ten, or even five, years down the road. But with Oliver, there was no question that he was it for her, forever.

Suddenly, Felicity felt Oliver turn her around to face him and his arms move to her thighs and then he was lifting her up onto her kitchen counter. Felicity leaned back until her head was tilted against her cabinets, allowing Oliver access to her neck and chest. Oliver began to trail kisses down until he reached the tops of her breasts. One of Felicity’s hands made its way into Oliver’s hair—although thanks to the League shaving his head, there wasn’t really any hair to grab onto; that would have to change—and her other hand slid across the counter until it hit—

“The food and coffee’s gonna get cold.” Felicity said through her pants. She hadn’t realized how breathless she was until she tried to speak.

“Let it.” Oliver said as he continued to pepper kisses across her neck and chest. “We can just heat it up later.”

“But I’m hungry!” Felicity whined as she realized that she was, in fact, very hungry.

“Me too. But my appetite’s changed.” Oliver said with a sly smile.

Felicity could feel her cheeks turn red as she realized what he was implying. She didn’t know why she was embarrassed, she was an adult. She’d had sex before. She’d even been eaten out before. And yet, the pink warmth still flooded her cheeks anyway.

“Oliver, we’ll have plenty of time for that later. I’m hungry now.” Felicity stated.

“Promise?” Oliver asked with a smile.

“Promise.” Felicity said after placing a soft kiss to his lips.

Felicity then grabbed the food and coffee and headed over to the couch so they could eat.

Felicity didn’t know exactly what the future held in store for them and their relationship, but she knew there was no other person she wanted to spend the future with.

* * *

 

After all was said and done—Ra’s was dead and the Alpha-Omega attack had been stopped—Oliver headed back to the loft to start packing.

He couldn’t wait to leave all of this behind him and start his new life with Felicity. This is what he’d been dreaming about for so long; he never thought he would actually get to have it, and now it was really happening.

By the time Oliver got back to the loft, Thea had already beaten him there and was in the kitchen making tea.

“Hey, Speedy.” Oliver greeted Thea when he walked in.

“Hey Ollie. I was just making some tea. You want some?”

“Sure, Speedy.” Oliver answered with a soft smile. “I’m just gonna be up in my room packing, but let me know when it’s ready.”

Oliver turned to head up the stairs, but was stopped by Thea’s voice. “Packing?”

Oliver spun around to look at her. “Yeah. I told you, I’m leaving town.”

Thea’s face fell at his statement which caused a pinch to Oliver’s heart. “Oh, you were serious about that.”

Oliver stepped closer to Thea. “I can’t stay here, Speedy. Even if I wanted to, I can’t be the Arrow anymore. For the last three years, my whole life has been about saving the city. I couldn’t leave it while I knew it was still in danger.”

“We may have defeated the League of Assassins, but this is still Starling City after all, you don’t have to go very far to find criminal activity here.” Thea pointed out.

“I know. But I also know that you and John and Laurel can handle things. I’m not saying I’ll never, ever come back. But I’ve spent the last eight years as...not Oliver Queen. And, for the first time in all those years, I have a chance to be myself again and to really get to know who I am without the hood.”

Thea sighed in resignation. “I guess I can’t begrudge you for that. But what about Felicity? I mean, you’ve never told me about her and now, all the sudden, you’re leaving town with her. And, other than the few weeks we spent together while you were in the League, I barely know her.”

Oliver nodded in understanding. “I never told you about her because it was complicated and I didn’t know what to say.”

“Well, tell me now.”

Oliver nodded. Thea went to pour two cups of tea while Oliver went to sit on the couch. Thea joined him a few moments later, handing him a cup.

“Where do you want me to start?” Oliver asked her as he blew on his tea a bit to cool it down.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Thea told him. “When did you first meet?”

“Well, it was about three weeks or so after I got back from the island.” Oliver began. “This was when the Unidac Industries auction was taking place and all the competition was being killed off by a hired assassin named Floyd Lawton. I was trying to figure out what Lawton’s plan was so I confronted him in his hotel room. Shots were fired but I got away with his laptop. That’s where Felicity came in. I needed help pulling the information I needed off the laptop so I went to Walter and asked him who the best IT specialist in the company was.”

“And he said Felicity?” Thea interjected.

“No, actually. He sent me to Mark Wright who was the head of the IT Department. So I went to Mr. Wright and asked him to pull the data. He tried for about three hours and couldn’t do it. So I left, deciding I would just need to find someone else. That’s when I was stopped by the IT department’s receptionist. She noticed I was looking less than satisfied so I told her that Mr. Wright wasn’t able to help me with my problem. She said ‘Oh you should go see Felicity Smoak. She’s the best in this department. Every time anyone else can’t figure something out, they go to Felicity and she’s always able to fix the problem.’ So I went to her cubicle and she was able to pull the data in about ten minutes.” The memory caused a small smile to spread across Oliver’s face. “And actually, later, Walter asked me if Mr. Wright had been able to help me with my problem and I said ‘No, but Felicity Smoak did.’ I don’t know if my comment had anything to do with it, but shortly after that she got promoted to a supervisor and even got her own office.”

Oliver took a sip of tea and looked up at Thea to see if she was still listening. She was and she silently encouraged him to continue.

“After that, I kept coming back to her for tech help. And I also found out later that she’d also been helping Walter with his investigation into the List. When I first came back from the island, everything was different. I didn’t see friends and family anymore, I just saw threats or targets. Felicity was the first person that I could see as a person. I barely knew her and yet I trusted her. That’s why I revealed my identity to her. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but do you remember before the Undertaking when Mom was attacked by the Hood and she shot him?”

“Yeah.” Thea replied. And Oliver watched as the realization dawned on her. “Mom shot you.”

“Yeah. And I probably would’ve died if it weren’t for Felicity. After I escaped out the window, I landed in the QC parking garage where I was gonna try to get to my bike to call Dig, but I collapsed before I made it there. And, as luck would have it, I collapsed right next to Felicity’s car.”

“How did you know it was her car?” Thea interjected.

“I had done my research on her. And I may have followed her home from work one night.” Oliver admitted.

“You stalked her?” Thea gaped at Oliver.

“I was doing my due diligence. Making sure she was trustworthy.” Oliver defended himself.

“Mm-hm.” Thea hummed as she took a sip of her tea.

“Anyway, I had collapsed next to Felicity’s car and when I realized it really was her car, I broke in and crawled in the backseat thinking that I would either die there or stay awake long enough for Felicity to get in and hope she would take me to the foundry.”

“You broke into her car?!” Thea interjected again. “Ollie!” She chided.

“Well, I couldn’t have just stayed out in the open where the police might’ve found me!” Oliver, once again, defended himself.

Thea sighed and took another sip of her tea. “Alright, I guess I can understand that. Although I will say that crawling into her backseat while you’re literally bleeding to death and hoping that she’ll do what you ask and not call the cops on you is putting an awful lot of faith in someone you barely know.” Thea commented.

“I know. And looking back, it does seem a bit foolish, but at the time, my only thought was just to survive and Felicity seemed like my best bet.”

“So then what happened next?” Thea asked, encouraging him to keep going.

“Well, she took me to the foundry and she and Dig patched me up and saved my life and then I asked her to join the team.” Oliver said.

“And she did?”

Oliver nodded. “Yes. But actually, at first she only joined provisionally just to find Walter.”

“So then what changed? She only joined the team to find Walter, but she’s still on the team now. What got her to stay?”

“I don’t know.” Oliver admitted. “I’ve wondered that myself. You’d have to ask her.”

“So she’s known your secret all this time? Is that why she was your assistant when you were the CEO of QC? Because, now that I think about it, she seems like she was probably way overqualified for that job.”

“She was. In fact, she was basically doing my job for me. But yes, that’s why I made her my secretary; it was her secret identity.” Oliver chuckled at that.

“So when did you know you loved her?” Thea asked.

That question took Oliver by surprise. “Well, that’s kind of a complicated question. I didn’t even realize I had any kind of romantic feelings for her until...do you remember, after the Undertaking when I left and I told you I was in Europe?” Oliver asked and Thea nodded. “Well, I actually went back to the island. After Tommy’s death and Mom going to prison, I just needed to get away from everything for a while and the island, believe it or not, was the one place that just made sense to me. And while I was there, I missed Felicity. I mean, I missed you and Mom of course, but I really missed Felicity. Which, at the time, I didn’t really understand. I couldn’t figure out why I missed her more than I missed my own sister and mother. I didn’t even really miss Laurel that much. But then she and Dig came to get me from the island and in the coming weeks, I slowly started to realize that I was attracted to her. But not just as a hook-up. She was...special. She saw me in a way no one else did. I think maybe that’s why I opened up to her more than anyone else. Because she didn’t know me before the island so she didn’t judge me by the person I was before. She didn’t have any expectations of me. And she was the only person that saw my scars and didn’t look at me with pity.” Oliver admitted the last part softly. And when he looked up to meet Thea’s eyes, she was looking at him very intently.

“Wow.” was all Thea managed to say.

“As for when I knew I loved her...well...I’m not really sure. It cams on pretty gradually. After I came back from the island the second time, I began to realize that, if I let myself,I could fall completely head over heels for her...and that fucking _terrified_ me. So I pushed her away and I shoved those feelings down as deep as I could. And for a long time I pretended that I didn’t have feelings for her. I even got back with Sara briefly. But, inevitably, those feelings wouldn’t stay down. During the siege, she told me that she believed in me and I think that was the point of no return for me. I realized that I loved her and I couldn’t deny it anymore. But I was still afraid. Even though she knew me better than anyone else, she didn’t know _all_ of me and I was afraid that if I let her in completely, she wouldn’t like what she saw and she would leave.” Oliver admitted.

“But you’re not afraid anymore?”

“No, actually, I’m still pretty terrified.” Oliver admitted with a chuckle. “But I don’t want to let that fear control me anymore. That’s why I wanted her to come with me when I leave. I wanna get to know the man under the hood and I wanna know that that man can be loved. Unconditionally.”

Thea set her, now empty, cup of tea on the coffee table and then grabbed Oliver’s and set his down too before wrapping him up in a tight hug.

“It’s obvious that you really love her and she makes you happy. And all I want is for you to be happy. And while I still want you to stay in town, I can see that this is something you need to do. So go. Go pack your stuff and ride off into the sunset with your princess.” Thea squeezed his shoulders and gave him a cheeky smile.

Oliver couldn’t help but laugh at her comment. “Thanks, Speedy.”

“When are you planning on leaving?” Thea asked as Oliver got off the couch to head up the stairs.

“Tomorrow night. She said she had some things to take care of first so that should be plenty of time.” Oliver informed Thea.

“And where are you going?”

“I’m not really sure.” Oliver admitted. “But I promise I’ll let you know as soon as we get settled somewhere.”

“You better.”

Oliver went upstairs to pack up his things. He decided just to pack as much as he could fit into a couple suitcases and duffel bags.

While he was packing, a thought occurred to Oliver and he went back downstairs to find Thea sitting on the couch and watching TV.

“Hey, Speedy?”

“Yeah.”

“How much do you need your car?”

“What?” Thea looked up at him in confusion.

“Well, I was just realizing that all I have is my bike and I can’t really take a long-term road trip with just that. And I thought, since you have that car you bought with Malcolm’s money...”

“You want my car?” Thea connected the dots.

“You can have my bike.” Oliver bargained.

“I don’t even know how to ride a motorcycle.”

“You can learn.” Oliver reasoned.

“So, let me get this straight,” Thea began, “not only are you leaving town leaving your twenty year old sister alone, I might add, but you also want me to join your vigilante team and teach myself how to ride a motorcycle while you’re gone.”

“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds really irresponsible.”

“It is irresponsible.” Thea stated. “Lucky for you, we’re not a normal family. You can take my car. The keys are in the tray.”

Oliver went over to kiss Thea on the top of the head. “Thanks, Speedy. I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go before I change my mind.”

Oliver went over to check that the keys were indeed in the tray. He wouldn’t grab them now, he just wanted to make sure. On his way back upstairs, Oliver noticed a box that he couldn’t believe he never noticed before.

“What’s this?” He asked Thea.

Thea looked over to see what he was talking about. “Oh, that actually just came in from Walter. Apparently it’s some of Mom’s old stuff that he’s been collecting over the past year since she died. He thought we’d like to have it.” Thea explained.

“What’s in it?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked yet.”

Oliver picked the box up and set it on the kitchen table. Thea wandered over as he was opening the lid.

It looked to be things that had been in the family’s safety deposit box. Oliver hadn’t even thought about their safety deposit box. He had been so distracted with taking down Slade after his mother’s death that he had forgotten about anything else.

“It looks like it’s all the stuff that was in our old safety deposit box. Walter must’ve collected it at some point.” Oliver explained.

Oliver and Thea began to pull things out one by one. It was mostly old family photos, his and Thea’s birth certificates, and other odds and ends like that. But there was one thing at the very bottom of the box that caught Oliver’s eye. It was a small, velvet box like the kind you would get from a jewelry store when you bought a ring. He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

“That’s Mom’s engagement ring.” Thea stated.

Oliver eyed it for a few moments before internally shaking his head and closing the box.

_No,_ _that’s_ _insane!_ _It’s_ _way_ _too_ _soon_ _for_ _that_ _._ Oliver chided himself.

“If there’s anything you want, feel free to take it. Other than that, maybe we should open a new safety deposit box.” Oliver said.

“I think we should keep all this stuff in a safety deposit box.” Thea said. “Although you might want this.” Thea said as she pulled the ring out and handed it to Oliver.

“Why would I want Mom’s engagement ring?” Oliver asked, trying to pretend that they weren’t thinking the same thing.

“Why do you think?”

Oliver looked at her completely dumbfounded. “Thea, I’m not gonna propose to Felicity, it’s way too soon for that!”

“I’m not saying you have to propose tomorrow, Ollie. But you’re totally in love with her, and you’re not the same Ollie you were before the island, so one day you might find yourself wanting to propose and it would be helpful to have a ring. And I know Mom would want you to have it. I’m sure Mom would’ve loved Felicity.”

“Thea...”

“Just take the ring, Ollie.” Thea held the ring out for him. He was reluctant to take it, but eventually, he did. He supposed Thea was right; he didn’t have to propose tomorrow but he might want to propose someday...and what better ring to give Felicity than his mother’s ring?

Thea gave him a smile before putting everything back in the box and closing it up. “I’ll try to get to the bank tomorrow to deposit all that stuff.”

After taking the ring, Oliver decided to go upstairs and pack the rest of his things.

The closer and closer it got to them leaving, the more his excitement and anticipation rose. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like between them. Up until this point, they’d gone on one date and slept together once. But now it would just be the two of them. It both excited and terrified him. He’d imagined, so many times, what a relationship with Felicity would be like, but those were just dreams, fantasies...this was reality. He didn’t really know what to expect. All he knew was that he loved her, more than he could possibly express, and he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re interested in my thoughts:  
> Mostly what inspired this fic is that, in the episode in question (3x23): Oliver tells Felicity that he wants to leave town and take her with him. And then they just...leave town. And I wanted to know what happened between those two scenes; mostly because Felicity doesn’t really seem like the type that would just drop everything and leave on a whim so I wanted to see the planning and the packing and the logistical stuff.  
> Also, I don’t know about anyone else, but I actually liked Ray and Felicity together and I wanted them to have some actual closure.  
> As for Oliver’s comment about Felicity getting promoted after their first meeting, well...I can’t be the only one that noticed the place Felicity was working in 1x03 looked very different than where she was seen working in the rest of the season. So I have this headcanon that, shortly after the first time she met Oliver (and also started helping Walter) that she got a promotion and that’s why she’s seen to have her own office instead of that cubicle.  
> And, regarding Oliver and Thea’s whole scene. At one point, Thea explicitly states that she didn’t know about Oliver and Felicity, so I wanted to show Thea learn of the history of their relationship. I also have an idea for a fic told during the time when Oliver was a part of the League that would show Felicity and Thea starting to get to know each other, so if that’s something you’d be interested in reading, let me know!  
> Re Oliver asking Thea for her car: Because where else would he have gotten that Porsche? (It was a Porsche right? I’m not super car-savvy, but it looked like one.)  
> And lastly, I figured Oliver and Felicity never returned to Star City during their summer vacation, so if Oliver had his mother’s ring then he had to have gotten it before they left and just been carrying it around the whole time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapter is all smut from beginning to end. If that’s not your thing, I promise no hard feelings if you decide to skip this chapter. However, there are some things between the smutty bits that are actually important for the development of their relationship going forward, so I’ll put a smut-free summary in the post-chapter notes so you won’t miss any of the important story stuff.
> 
> For those of you who will read the smut, I must confess that smut isn’t really my strong suit so sorry if the smut in this chapter isn’t very good. I will also say that I don’t really like smut just for the sake of smut so whenever there is any in this ‘verse, there’s always a purpose to it. So if you hate my smut, you won’t have to deal with it often! ;)
> 
> Anyway, I’ll shut up now and let you enjoy!

Oliver and Felicity left the next night just as they had planned—right in time for the sunset; Felicity almost laughed at the cheesiness of that.

They drove southeast, towards Las Vegas, until almost midnight. Oliver wanted to keep driving through the night, but Felicity insisted that they stop and find a hotel to spend the night. Oliver relented and they ended up in some middle-of-nowhere town that Felicity didn’t catch the name of.

“This is one of those towns where you drive through it on a road trip and think ‘who the hell lives here’.” Oliver joked as they set their bags down in their room.

Felicity felt a little awkward, she had to admit. She and Oliver had been alone together, but not like this...not as a couple. There was that one night in Nanda Parbat, but that was just sex and then she drugged him and tried to get him out of there. _This_ was different. This wasn’t just a hook-up when they thought they’d never see each other again. This was real. They were really here and they were really in a relationship. For _real_.

Suddenly, Felicity felt Oliver’s arms wrap around her waist from behind. Feeling his arms around her calmed her and reassured her that everything would be okay. This may be somewhat uncharted territory, but she loved Oliver; she was certain of that. She knew that everything would be okay as long as she had him.

“What are you thinking?” Oliver whispered in her ear after he placed a kiss on her temple.

“Honestly?” Felicity asked.

“Yes.” Oliver answered. 

“I was a bit nervous about all this...leaving with you. But not so much anymore.”

“Really?”

Felicity turned around so that she was facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Yes.” She replied with a nod. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you.”

Felicity pressed her lips to Oliver’s but he pulled away after only a few moments which made Felicity pout.

“I love you.” Oliver stated.

Felicity couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at his words. “I love you too.”

They kissed again, but deeper this time. Oliver slipped his tongue inside her mouth and rubbed it along her own. After several moments of kissing and exploring her mouth, Oliver pulled away and began kissing along her jaw and down her neck. Felicity tilted her head to give him more access to her neck. She felt him start to nip and lightly suck on her neck which sent shivers down her spine. She couldn’t help the soft moans that escaped her lips and she could feel the wetness start to pool between her legs. How could she already be getting wet from just some kissing?

“Oliver.” Felicity breathed out.

“What is it, baby?” Oliver asked between kisses.

“Bed. Now.” 

Oliver pulled away and looked at her with a sly smile. “So demanding!” 

“If you’re not naked in the next ten seconds, I’ll just go into the bathroom and make you listen but not be able to do anything while I take care of myself.”

“ _Damn_. Who _are_ you right now? I knew you could be bossy, but this is a whole nother level. You weren’t like this when we were together in Nanda Parbat.”

“That’s because I thought we’d never see each other again so I wanted you to have what you wanted.” Felicity admitted. “But this isn’t Nanda Parbat and we’re not in a one-last-chance-to-be-together-before-we’re-separated-forever situation. So...clothes off. _Now_.” Felicity demanded.

Oliver just nodded and took his shirt off, but Felicity got impatient and started taking his pants off for him. Oliver slipped off his shoes and socks and stepped out of his pants. All that was left were his boxers which he soon removed and then he was just standing there completely naked. Felicity gave him a once-over, realizing that, when they were in Nanda Parbat, everything had happened so fast that she never got the chance to really look at him. She had seen him shirtless before so she knew he was ripped, but looking at him now and seeing all of him. _Holy_ _shit_. She was extremely happy to report that all of the stories she had heard about Oliver Queen were true. She already had a sense of his size from their night in Nanda Parbat, but actually seeing it and not just feeling it was a whole other experience.

“Your turn. Fair is fair.” Oliver’s voice broke through her haze and she looked up to meet his eyes before his words registered in her head.

 _Fair_ _is_ _fair._

Felicity took off her jacket and shirt—leaving her bra on—before taking off her shoes and pulling down her pants. She left her panties on too while she took all her jewelry off.

Then, her nerves really started to rise as she took her bra and panties off. In Nanda Parbat, she didn’t have any problem undressing herself because they were in the heat of the moment. But this time, they were just standing there in front of each other.

As Felicity stood there, completely naked, she stared at Oliver as he gave her the once-over. She felt a blush creep over her skin and she felt this desperate need to cover herself, but before she could, Oliver looked back up at her and met her eyes.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

His words made Felicity’s heart flutter. She found it difficult to take a deep breath and her skin started to heat up.

Felicity could feel a babble start to bubble to the surface but, as if Oliver could read her mind and sense what was coming, he stepped close to her and pressed his lips to hers, swallowing the babble before it could escape.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and laid her down on the bed. When he did that, she felt his erection rub up against her which caused a gasp to escape her throat.

“Last time we did this,” Oliver began “it was rushed and over too quickly. This time, I want to take my time and give you the attention you deserve.” Oliver told her in a deep, gravely voice.

After Felicity was laid flat on the bed, Oliver took her arms and raised them above her head before he began to trail kisses down her neck and her collarbone and her chest until he reached her breasts.

He went to her right breast first; nibbling and sucking on the flesh and nipple while his hand went to fondle her left breast.

Felicity’s breathing became heavy and all the hairs on her neck and arms stood straight up as chills ran down her spine. 

Oliver finished off her right breast with one last suck to her nipple before giving her left breast the same treatment. As if she wasn’t wet enough already, she felt even more pool in her legs to the point where it was almost painful. She tried to reach her arm down to rub herself a little and relieve some of the pressure, but Oliver caught her and pinned her arm back up above her head.

“Not yet.” Oliver lightly scolded her.

“Wha—why?” Felicity whined. She began to squirm underneath him trying to create some friction to relieve some of her tension.

Oliver squeezed her hips to keep them pinned on the mattress. “Don’t make me tie you up to keep you still.” Oliver warned.

“You would tie me up?” Felicity asked.

“Only if you keep moving and ruining my process.”

Oliver gave her a pointed look and she conceded with a sigh, realizing this “process” of his was very important to him.

“Alright fine. I promise I’ll stop moving and let you do your thing.” Felicity promised. “Now get to it before I explode.” She stated in a much more demanding tone.

Oliver chuckled and leaned back down to begin kissing her again. He trailed open-mouthed kisses down her torso until he reached her belly button. 

She desperately wanted, _needed_ , him to continue straight down until he was between her legs, but instead the asshole took a sharp turn and started kissing her hipbones and down her right leg instead.

“You... _motherfucker_!” Felicity exclaimed.

Oliver stopped kissing her leg abruptly and looked up at her. “Excuse me?!”

“Why can’t you just give me what I want!” Felicity whined.

Oliver repositioned himself so that he was hovering over her and met her eyes. “If you really want me to, I will bury myself inside of you and fuck you into oblivion. _Or_ I can go back to taking my time and make this last all night. It’s totally your call. What do you want?”

“I want...” Felicity began but trailed off. His first option was definitely tempting, if only to relieve the tension between her legs. But when Felicity cleared the fog from her brain enough to really think about it, she realized what she really wanted was for this to not be over quickly. She wanted to be able to explore him the same way he clearly wanted to explore her. She wanted to do now what she hadn’t gotten to do in Nanda Parbat.

“I want you...to take your time. I want this to last.” She breathed out.

“Good.” He stated before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. “I want that too.”

Oliver went back to kissing her legs and even nibbling and sucking on her inner thighs. As he got closer and closer to where she wanted him to be, her toes curled in anticipation.

She could feel how close he was to her folds and she just wanted him to dive in already, but instead, he just paused and looked up at her.

“Wha—what are you waiting for?” Felicity asked.

“Just making sure you’re ready.”

“You actually have to ask?”

Oliver shrugged. “Fair point.”

Without another word, Oliver plunged one of his fingers into her folds causing her to let out a moan and her back to arch slightly.

“God you weren’t kidding; you’re so wet.” Oliver commented.

Oliver began moving his finger in and out, messaging her inner walls in the process. Felicity could feel the tension rising, she knew she wasn’t gonna last much longer.

Oliver pulled his finger out, but before Felicity could protest, she felt his tongue lick a stripe all the way up to her clit. This caused Felicity’s toes to curl and a loud moan to escape her lips. “ _Fuck!_ ” Felicity cursed loudly.

Felicity could feel a smile spread across Oliver’s lips and the hot breath from the chuckle he exhaled.

Oliver resumed licking and sucking at the sensitive flesh and, before too long, he returned to messaging her walls with his fingers. He plunged two fingers into her this time and she was getting so close to the edge she couldn’t control her body any longer. Her back arched, her toes curled, and her legs twitched despite how hard she tried to keep them still.

The tension in her body rose until it became too much and she just wanted to _come_.

“Oliver, please.” Felicity cried out.

Oliver rose up to look at her but kept his fingers inside of her. “What do you want, baby?”

“I want...I want to...Oliver...” Felicity panted. Her brain was scrambled, she couldn’t think straight. 

“Felicity.” Oliver stated calmly.

“I wanna come. Please...Oliver.”

At her words, Oliver resumed his activities of licking and sucking and fingering until finally... _sweet_ _release_.

The tension in Felicity’s body loosened and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her body convulsed and she grabbed onto the bed’s headboard for support.

Oliver continued to pleasure her through her orgasm. She let out several loud moans and pants as she came down from her high.

As she laid on the bed trying to steady her breaths, she felt Oliver reposition himself so that he was hovering over her. He captured her lips in a kiss while her heart rate slowed down and her breathing steadied. She could taste herself on him and that actually kinda turned her on.

“You’re really good at that.” Felicity breathed out after Oliver pulled away.

“Thank you.” Oliver replied with a chuckle. “Can I tell you a secret?” Oliver asked her with a smile.

“Sure.” Felicity answered.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a very long time. I used to dream about it.” Oliver confessed.

“You used to dream about going down on me?” Felicity asked.

“That...and so much more.”

“Really?” Felicity asked as a cheeky smile spread across her face.

“Yeah. I can’t tell you how many times I woke up with morning wood because of you. I used to get worked up just watching you spar with Dig.” Oliver admitted, punctuating his words with kisses along her jaw.

“Seriously?” Felicity asked and Oliver nodded, placing another kiss on the corner of her mouth. “And what exactly would we do in these dreams?” 

“Well, it kinda depended on where we were in these dreams. If we were in the foundry, I would bend you over a table. One time, I dreamed that you were just working at your station and I took it upon myself to...service you.” Oliver gave her a wink which made her blush. “Although, after you bought me that bed, I would dream of throwing you on it and making you scream. I’d spread your legs and have myself a little feast.” Oliver confessed with a sly smile. “Sometimes I’d bring you right to the edge, but not let you fall over.”

“Ugh that’s cruel.” Felicity interjected while giving his arm a light smack. “You better not do that to me in real life. I wouldn’t let you live to see another day.”

“And then...” Oliver continued, ignoring her interjection, “I’d let you play with me a little and then I’d turn you over so you were on all fours and take you from behind.”

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but you may not have much luck making those dreams a reality.” Felicity informed him.

“Why not?”

“Because I prefer to be on top.” Felicity stated, popping the ‘p’ in ‘top.’

“Really?” Oliver asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Oh yeah. And speaking of...it’s my turn.” Felicity stated as she rolled him on his back so she could be the one hovering over him.

“Your turn for what?”

“You had your fun. Now I get to have mine.”

Felicity pinned Oliver down, knowing that she couldn’t actually hold him if he didn’t want to be held. But he didn’t resist, so she took that as a sign that he was willing to let her take the lead. “I used to dream about you too, ya know.” Felicity said as she began tracing her fingers across his scars. “I’ve seen these scars dozens of times and I’ve always wondered what they felt like.” Felicity continued to trace his scars, making sure she didn’t miss a single one. “Do they hurt?” 

“No. Not anymore.” Oliver stated. “But...when I look at them I can still remember all the pain.”

“Yeah, when you’re actually experiencing the pain, you think you’ve never felt anything worse in your life. But eventually, the physical pain fades and you’re left with the emotional pain. That never goes away. And it hurts a hell of a lot more than the physical stuff.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

“I may not have as many scars on my body as you, but my life hasn’t been all sunshine and roses.” Felicity said. “ _But_ ,” Felicity placed her finger on his lips to keep him silent, “now is not the time for talking about that. I have much more fun things in mind.” Felicity gave him a suggestive smile before leaning down to kiss him. She placed kisses on both his cheeks and trailed kisses along his jaw before placing a lingering kiss on the mole on the corner of his mouth. “You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed about kissing that mole.” She said with a smile.

Felicity began trailing kisses down his torso, making sure to place a kiss on each one of his scars. She could feel his erection rising as she got closer and closer to his crotch. Felicity decided to get a little payback so she wrapped her hand around the base of his cock, but didn’t move it. She just squeezed a little bit as she kissed along his hips and down the trail of hair that led from his belly button to his crotch.

“Felicity...” Oliver breathed out and Felicity could tell that he was struggling to hold himself together. She looked up to see his eyes squeezed shut and his hands in fists so tight his knuckles were turning white. 

“Wow, you’re really tense.” Felicity observed in a playful tone. “You need to relax...” Felicity punctuated her statement by rubbing her hand up the length of his cock. “Does that feel better, baby?” Felicity asked and he gave her a grunt in response. 

Felicity rolled her eyes and repositioned herself so she was hovering over him and pressed her lips to his. He kissed back, but he still didn’t open his eyes.

She continued to kiss him as she rubbed her hand up and down along the length of his cock.

She could feel precum start to leak out. “If we keep going on like this, you’re gonna make a mess all over the bed.” Felicity lamented playfully.

Felicity moved away from his head and back down so she was close to his crotch. His eyes were still closed and his breathing was staggered. She smiled slyly to herself before leaning down and placing a kiss on his tip.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Oliver exclaimed.

Felicity let out a small chuckle and then wrapped her mouth around his tip. She sucked on it a little before pulling back up.

“You’re still really tense.”

Oliver didn’t respond. His eyes were still shut tight and his hands were still in fists.

Felicity decided to take pity on him and she put her mouth around his cock again, but instead of stopping at the tip, she took as much of him in her mouth as she could.

Felicity had never tried deep-throating before; she didn’t think she’d be very good at it considering her gag reflex wasn’t very strong. She imagined gagging all over a man’s penis in the middle of a blow job probably wasn’t very sexy.

Still, as far as Felicity could tell, Oliver seemed to be enjoying himself.

Felicity kept her grip on his cock while moving her other hand to cup and message his balls, which elicited a pretty loud moan from Oliver.

Felicity continued to bob up and down, licking and sucking, until she felt his seed pour into her mouth and Oliver’s hips bucked up. She continued to suck on him through his orgasm and then released him with a pop.

Felicity went to hover over Oliver and place kisses along his jaw and neck and his eyes fluttered open.

“Do you feel better now, baby?” Felicity crooned playfully.

“So much better.” Oliver answered, pulling her face up to his so he could kiss her.

They continued to kiss for several minutes before Felicity pulled away.

“I’m not done yet.” Felicity stated, placing one last kiss on his lips.

She ground her hips down on his crotch until she felt his cock get stiff again.

“Already? Damn. That didn’t take long.” Felicity observed. 

“What can I say?” Oliver responded. “I like you,” Oliver smiled cheekily.

“Well, I think you’re about to like me a lot more.” Felicity said before plunging down on him which caused moans to escape both their lips.

Felicity began moving herself up and down and Oliver placed his hands on her hips to help guide her.

Oliver’s hands moved from her hips to trail up and down her torso. He played with her breasts as she continued to move her hips.

Felicity ground down on him even harder as she got closer to her climax and she felt Oliver thrust up into her.

Felicity toppled over the edge first, but Oliver wasn’t far behind. Felicity had trouble keeping herself upright as her orgasm rippled through her. She felt her walls clench around Oliver’s cock. His breathing became erratic and his hips convulsed. Felicity continued to try to grind on him through his orgasm, but soon, she wasn’t able to hold herself up anymore and she collapsed on top of him with a light smack.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and placed a lingering kiss on her temple.

They laid like that for several moments, with Oliver still inside her, as they both calmed their breathing.

Eventually, Felicity pulled herself off of him and rolled onto her back next to him.

Felicity’s eyes fluttered closed and, after a few moments, she felt Oliver’s weight leave the bed.

“Where—“ Felicity began to ask before she was cut off by Oliver placing a soft kiss on her lips.

“Bathroom.” He whispered.

Felicity nodded and closed her eyes again. She heard movement, then she heard the bathroom sink turn on for at least a few minutes before it was turned off. She heard Oliver come back into the main room and expected to feel him laying back down on the bed, but instead, she felt his hands on her legs, gently spreading them apart, before she felt a warm washcloth being gently rubbed along her thighs.

She usually didn’t let guys clean her off; there was just something so intimate about the act it made her feel awkward when the guy did it for her so she preferred to do it herself. But she didn’t feel weird at all having Oliver do it now. She just laid back and enjoyed the feeling of his calloused hands on her. 

After Oliver was finished cleaning her, he got up and Felicity watched him walk back to the bathroom to put the washcloth away. She couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on his ass. It really was an _amazing_ ass.

A few moments later, he was laying back down on the bed and pulling her into his arms.

He placed a soft kiss on her temple and she nuzzled in closer to him. 

“I love you.” Oliver whispered.

Felicity leaned up and placed a kiss on his jaw. “I love you too.”

They laid in silence for several minutes before Oliver spoke up. “You know what I just realized?”

“What?” Felicity asked.

“We didn’t use a condom.” Oliver observed.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Felicity realized. “But we didn’t use a condom in Nanda Parbat either. But we’re both fine right? I mean, I didn’t get pregnant, neither of us have any STDs...assuming nothing’s changed since Nanda Parbat...assuming you never consummated your non-marriage with Nyssa...”

“Absolutely not.” Oliver stated. “For one thing, I’m not her type; and for another thing, there is only one woman I want to be with.”

“Cindy Crawford?” Felicity joked.

Felicity felt the vibrations in his chest as he chuckled. “Well, her too.”

Suddenly, Oliver flipped them over so he was laying on top of her and Felicity couldn’t help the loud gasp that escaped her mouth at the motion.

“The only woman I want to be with...is you.” Oliver said before placing a chaste kiss on her her lips.

Without warning, Oliver thrust into her and a loud moan escaped Felicity’s throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT-FREE SUMMARY: Oliver and Felicity are on their way to Vegas, but Felicity makes them stop so they’re not driving through the night, so they do. They get to the hotel and Felicity feels awkward at first because her and Oliver being a real couple is uncharted territory and it makes her nervous. But Oliver helps calm her nerves. Felicity says there’s nowhere else she’d rather be than with him. They exchange “I love yous” and then have slow, love-making sex. Felicity traces and kisses Oliver’s scars and they talk a little about physical and emotional pain (but their conversation doesn’t go very deep...that’ll come later). They exchange “I love yous” again and have more sex.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee and bright sunlight shining on her face. She and Oliver had fallen asleep at about four in the morning after their...sex marathon? Felicity didn’t know what else to call it when you have sex four times in one night.

“Good morning” Felicity muttered as her eyes opened slowly to see Oliver sitting at the small table in the corner of the room. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while Felicity was still naked.

“Well, technically it’s the afternoon.” Oliver replied.

“Seriously?” Felicity asked in surprise, sitting up to look at him better and covering herself with the bedsheet. She didn’t know exactly why when he saw her fully naked the night before, but it was dark then; there was something very different about her being naked in the bright light of day. 

“Well, in our defense, we had a late night.” Oliver said with a sly smile and a wink that caused a blush to creep up her skin. 

“Speaking of...” Felicity began “I should probably get dressed.” Felicity said as she got up out of bed to walk to her suitcase to grab some of her clothes.

However, on her way to her suitcase she passed by Oliver who pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

He placed a kiss right in the crook of her neck before asking, “Are you hungry? I got breakfast...brunch? I guess, technically.” 

“Breakfast means to ‘break your fast’ so whatever your first meal of the day is is breakfast.” Felicity explained. “And yes, I’m starving.”

“Good.” Oliver smiled smugly. “You should be. You had quite the workout last night.” Oliver said as he gave her ass a light squeeze.

Felicity couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped her and she shoved him playfully. “Shut up.” 

Oliver gave her a kiss on the cheek before turning her face towards his and kissing her fully on the mouth. Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss before they were interrupted by Felicity’s stomach letting out a loud growl.

“Alright, what’s for breakfast?” Felicity asked after breaking the kiss.

“Blueberry pancakes with turkey bacon—which I know is your favorite breakfast. And I already made your coffee how you like it; no sugar, extra cream.” Oliver explained.

A grin spread across Felicity’s face at his words and she placed a kiss on his cheek. “You’re so sweet.” Oliver returned her smile and then Felicity made a move to stand up. “Alright,” she said, “let me get dressed and then we can eat.”

“You need to get dressed to eat breakfast in the privacy of our hotel room?” Oliver asked.

“Well...yeah. I’m not wearing any clothes. And you’re dressed.” Felicity pointed out.

Oliver preceded to undress himself by taking his shirt and pants off so he was left only in his boxers. “Better?”

“Did you really just undress yourself in solidarity?” Felicity laughed and Oliver shrugged.

Felicity just shrugged thinking _what the hell?_ before sitting down at the table across from Oliver in nothing but the sheet wrapped around her.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments as they began eating their breakfast before Oliver finally spoke.

“So are we still planning on visiting your mom in Las Vegas?” Oliver asked.

Felicity groaned and rolled her eyes. “I don’t really want to. But if we don’t she’ll totally kill me.”

“You know, one of these days you’re going to have to tell me what happened between you and your mom that caused such a strain between you.” Oliver said as he took a bite of one of his strips of bacon. 

“...nothing really...happened. We’re just too different.” Felicity responded, although that wasn’t entirely the truth. But she didn’t really want to get into that now. “But there’s something more important we need to talk about.”

“What?” Oliver asked.

“Tomorrow’s your birthday. The big 3-0. How do you want to celebrate?”

“Is it really?”

“Yes.” Felicity nodded. “Today’s May 15th which means tomorrow is May 16th which is your birthday. And since you were born in 1985 that means you’re turning thirty. So I ask again...how do you want to celebrate?”

“The last time I celebrated my birthday was before the island.” Oliver stated. 

“Which just means this birthday has to be extra special.”

“You know, we really don’t have to...”

“Oliver...we are celebrating your birthday and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.” Felicity commanded before finishing off the last of her pancakes.

“I love you.” Oliver said softly with a smile. Felicity smiled into her coffee as she took a sip.

* * *

 

After they finished their breakfast, they packed up their things and headed out.

“So, according to my GPS, we’re about four hours from Las Vegas, so we should arrive at my mom’s place around dinner time.” Felicity announced as they got in the car.

“Sounds good.” Oliver responded before starting the car and pulling out of the hotel parking lot. Felicity had offered to drive since Oliver had driven the first half, but Oliver insisted saying that he liked driving.

“I’ll call my mom to let her know.” Felicity said as she dialed her mom’s number.

The phone rang about five times before her mom finally picked up. “Hello?” Her mom’s voice came through the receiver.

“Hey, Mom, it’s me. I just wanted to let you know that Oliver and I will be at your place around 6:30.”

“Oh! Okay great! Well, I get off around five, and I managed to get a couple days off so we can spend some time together. So I’ll see you tonight! I love you sweetie and tell Oliver I say hi!”

“Okay, I love you too, Mom. I’ll see you tonight.” Felicity hung up and set her phone in her lap. “My mom says hi and she can’t wait to see us.” 

Once they were on the road and Felicity was sure Oliver was focused on driving, Felicity began texting her mom about Oliver’s birthday. Felicity would rather celebrate Oliver’s birthday just the two of them, but her mom wasn’t going to be working so Felicity couldn’t avoid her being there.

About an hour or so into the drive, Felicity received a phone call from Ned Foster.

“Hey Ned, what’s up?” Felicity greeted when she answered the phone.

“Miss Smoak, I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Ned said somberly. 

“What happened?” Felicity asked, a little worried. 

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the news, but earlier today there was an explosion at Palmer Technologies. Ray Palmer is missing and presumed deceased.” 

“Wait what? I don’t understand.” Felicity shook her head in disbelief. Oliver glanced over at her, but she just waved him off.

“No one knows exactly what happened or what caused the explosion yet. SCPD was called to the scene, but they’re still sorting through all the debris. They haven’t yet recovered Doctor Palmer’s body, but they’re saying it’s highly unlikely he survived.” 

“I...I...I don’t...Uh...so...so what does this mean for Palmer Tech?” Felicity stammered.

“Well, just before you left town, Doctor Palmer transferred ownership over to you. You now own the majority of stock and are the acting CEO. There will be a board meeting at the end of the quarter in June where we’ll vote on a permanent CEO.” Ned told her.

“Um...wow...okay. Uh I should probably tell you though that I’m not really planning on returning to Starling.”

“That’s okay. We’ll video conference with you and the board on Monday to get things sorted out.”

“Okay.” Felicity responded. “Well, then I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Goodbye, Miss Smoak.”

“Goodbye, Ned.” Felicity said before hanging up her phone.

“What was that all about?” Oliver asked.

Felicity took a deep breath and tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat before answering. “Ray’s dead.” Felicity couldn’t believe the words even as they were coming out of her mouth. 

“What?”

“Ray Palmer...is dead.” Felicity repeated.

“I don’t understand...what happened?” Oliver shook his head.

“Apparently, there was an explosion at Palmer Tech. SCPD haven’t found his body, but they say there’s no way he could’ve survived it.”

“Oh my god!” Oliver exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...totally...I’m fine.” Felicity said as the lump in her throat grew bigger and she felt tears sprang to her eyes.

Felicity tried to hide her sadness, but apparently she wasn’t doing a good job because Oliver pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked.

“Felicity, you’re clearly not fine.” Oliver said, grabbing her hand and trying to soothe her. “Talk to me.” He urged softly.

“I just...I just saw him like two days ago! He was fine! I...I...I...I just don’t understand.” As Felicity spoke, tears started streaming down her face.

Before Felicity got the chance to calm herself down, her phone rang again. 

“Hello?” Felicity spoke into her phone as she wiped away the tears from her face and tried to steady her breathing.

“Miss Smoak, this is Captain Lance.”

“Hello Captain. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I was going to ask you to come to the precinct so I could ask you some questions, but your COO told me you left town...”

“That’s correct.” Felicity confirmed. 

“...so I guess we’ll just have to do this over the phone.” 

Felicity decided to put the phone on speaker and then set it on the car’s dash. “Of course, Captain. You can ask me anything.” 

“A couple weeks ago, Doctor Palmer transferred ownership of Palmer Technologies to you.”

“Is that—“ Oliver whispered, but Felicity cut him off and silently urged him not to speak.

“That’s what my COO said, but to be honest, I don’t remember ever signing any transfer of ownership documents.” Felicity answered.

“That’s funny because I’m looking at transfer of ownership papers right now and your signature is clearly printed.” Captain Lance said. 

“Well, during my time as VP, I had to sign a lot of documents and I didn’t always know what they were for so it’s possible I signed the papers without realizing what they were.” Felicity answered honestly. 

“Well, my point is, Miss Smoak, that Doctor Palmer signed ownership over to you and then not too long after, you just decide to leave town out of the blue and then only a few hours after you leave, Doctor Palmer mysteriously disappears in an explosion leaving everything to you.” Lance hypothesized.

“Captain Lance, are you suggesting that I murdered Ray in order to take over sole control of Palmer Tech?” Felicity asked.

“Well, considering the type of people you associate with, I wouldn’t put it past you.”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean the kind of people I associate with?” Felicity asked, her sadness quickly turning into anger. “I really hope, _Captain_ , that you’re not letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement and keep you from finding out what happened to Ray. Because I really don’t think your Commissioner would be very happy to hear that.”

“Are you threatening me, Miss Smoak?” Lance asked.

“Of course not, Captain.” Felicity replied. “I’m just concerned that your bias might be clouding your judgement and I don’t want anything to get in the way of finding out the truth of what happened to Ray.” 

There was a brief pause before Lance finally spoke again. “I’ll call you if I have anymore questions.” Lance said, curtly, before abruptly hanging up the phone.

“I can’t believe that!” Oliver shouted suddenly. “Where the hell does he get off accusing you of murder?”

Felicity sighed. “He’s just angry about everything that happened...with Sara...and finding out the truth about you.” 

“Well, he has no right taking it out on you!”

Felicity placed her hand on Oliver’s arm and started rubbing it soothingly. “Oliver, relax. He’s just doing his job. I mean, you have to admit, it does seem suspicious. But all that matters is that _we_ know the truth.”

“I guess...” Oliver huffed out a sigh.

“Hey,” Felicity said, pulling at Oliver’s chin to force him to look at her, “don’t let this ruin anything. We left town, we’re starting fresh; however Lance feels about you, he’ll get over it eventually. Let’s just focus on the future.”

Oliver smiled softly and then leaned forward to kiss her. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you too.” Felicity replied, giving him another soft kiss before pulling away. “Now let’s go face my mother.”

Oliver let out a laugh before starting the car and pulling back onto the highway.

* * *

 

The rest of the three hours of their drive flew by; they talked and listened to music and before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of Felicity’s mother’s apartment complex. Felicity had texted her mom when they were ten minutes out, but given her mom’s struggle with technology, Felicity wondered if she actually received the text.

As it turns out, she did, because she was waiting for them outside the front door of the building when they pulled in.

As soon as Oliver and Felicity got out of the car, Donna—totally ignoring Felicity—ran up to Oliver and engulfed him in a hug.

“Oh, well, nice to see you, too, Mom.” Felicity said sarcastically.

Felicity’s mom managed to tear herself away from Oliver and give Felicity a hug that could rival the squeeze of a boa constrictor. “Oh, of course I’m happy to see you, baby!”

While Felicity was being squeezed to death by her mother, Oliver went and grabbed their small bags from the trunk. 

“Now why don’t you two come inside and make yourselves at home?” Donna said leading them through the door and up to her apartment. 

When they finally got up to the small one bedroom apartment, Donna told them to sit down on the couch while she went to the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. 

“So, Donna, how long have you lived here?” Oliver asked.

“I moved to this place two years ago.” Donna replied, handing Oliver and Felicity glasses of wine before pouring her own. “Before that, I lived with my friend, Nicolette and her two kids. And before that, it was me and Felicity. I haven’t lived on my own since before I met Noah.” 

“Noah?” Oliver asked.

“My dad.” Felicity answered. “Are you okay living on your own, Mom? This isn’t the safest neighborhood.” 

“I’m fine, sweetheart.” Felicity’s mom replied, sitting down with her glass. “I always make sure my doors and windows are locked and I keep pepper spray in the drawer of my nightstand.” 

“Does this place allow pets?” Felicity asked. “Maybe you should get a dog. One that barks at everything.”

“I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but really, baby, I’m fine. There hasn’t been a robbery or break in here in over five months. And the guy who did the robbing was an ex-boyfriend or something trying to get revenge. It’s not like there’s really anything in this building worth stealing, anyway.” Donna said as she took a sip of her wine. “But enough about me. How have you been, Oliver?” 

“Uh...admittedly, I’ve been going through a lot in the past couple months.” Oliver answered. “But that’s all over now and I’m looking forward to the future.” Oliver looked over at Felicity as he said those last words—a gesture that was not lost on Donna.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” Donna replied with a smile. “So Felicity tells me you’ve left Starling City. Is this permanent or are you planning on going back eventually?” 

“Well, maybe we’ll go back someday.” Oliver answered. “But right now, we have no plans to return in the immediate future.” 

Felicity had to admit that Oliver’s words were news to her. When Oliver said he wanted to leave town after the outbreak, Felicity honestly wasn’t sure if he meant forever or not. But when he was helping her pack, she basically packed everything she owned that she could fit into her suitcases. And she must’ve known, somewhere in the back of her head that he meant forever because she asked Ray to sell her house.

But still, hearing him actually say the words was weird. And it made all sorts of questions pop into her mimd: If they weren’t going back to Starling, where were they planning on settling down? Would they buy a house? Would she have to find a new job? Would they get married?

Felicity shook her head to clear her thoughts and then took a large gulp of her wine. Her whole life she had been a planner, always thinking about the future. For once, she should just live in the moment. Nothing else mattered except that she and Oliver were together and happy.

While Felicity was lost in her thoughts, Oliver and her mother had been carrying on a conversation.

“I want to see everything.” Oliver’s comment tore Felicity from her thoughts. 

“See everything of what?” Felicity asked. “Where’d my mom go?” Felicity asked as she realized her mom was nowhere to be seen. 

“She just went to her closet to grab her photo albums. She wants to show me pictures of you when you were young.” Oliver replied.

“Oh god no!” Felicity exclaimed, but it was too late as her mother had already re-entered the room carrying a box full of photo albums.

“So I’m a bit of a scrapbooker.” Donna chimed as she sat down in her chair. “I’ve chronicled Felicity’s whole life since day one in multiple volumes. Volume One, Felicity: Year One.” Donna said as she pulled out a large, leather-bound book, turning it so it was right-side-up from Oliver’s perspective. The picture on the very front was, what Felicity assumed to be her as a newborn, laying in a hospital bed. Over the top of the picture was FELICITY done in gold sparky letters and underneath, the sub-heading “Year One” writtenin magenta. 

“Wow.” Oliver exclaimed as he took in the sight. Felicity just gaped.

Donna opened up the book to reveal the first page: a copy of Felicity’s birth certificate.

“Felicity Megan Kuttler born July 24, 1989 at 12:03pm.” Oliver read aloud. “Kuttler?” He asked.

“My dad’s last name.” Felicity answered. “My mom changed it to Smoak after the divorce.” 

“Wow, you were nine pounds eight ounces when you were born?” Oliver observed. “Even _I_ wasn’t that big.” 

“Oh yeah, she was a big baby. They almost had to do a c-section because they were afraid she wouldn’t be able to fit. It was her head, you see; the doctor said it was about twice the size of the average newborn’s head.” Donna responded, with an oddly proud smile.

“Well, it’s gotta be to fit that big brain of hers.” Oliver commented. 

“What is happening right now?” Felicity exclaimed, but it fell on deaf ears because Oliver and her mother continued on. 

“Did she ever tell you the story of her birth?” Donna asked. 

“No.” Oliver shook his head. 

“Well, she came out right on time, but there were some complications. When she came out, the cord was wrapped around her neck and it was suffocating her. They got it untangled, but she still wasn’t breathing. The doctor told us that whether she breathed or not was up to her. It was less than a minute between the time she was born and the time she took her first breath, but it felt like an eternity. I held my breath the whole time because I just couldn’t bear to breathe until my baby girl did. But then she started crying...and then _I_ started crying; even Noah cried. And that’s why we named her Felicity—because the name Felicity means intense happiness and good fortune.”

“So she was a fighter right from the beginning.” Oliver commented as he looked over at Felicity and beamed.

“Well, you know me. I’m not one to give up easily.” Felicity responded.

Oliver grasped Felicity’s hand and kissed it before turning back to face Donna. “So what’s next?”

“Well,” Donna began, turning the page. “After we brought her home from the hospital...” 

Felicity mostly tuned them out after that, only chiming in when Oliver would ask her a question directly. 

Finally, they made it through all five volumes of her mother’s scrapbooks. “Year One” was followed by “The Preschool Years”, then “Grade School Girl”, “Felicity: Child Prodigy” (which chronicled Felicity’s years in high school—the title mostly came from the fact that she skipped all of middle school and started high school when she was twelve), after that was “Master of MIT” which wasn’t very long because Felicity’s mom didn’t like to remember her goth phase so the only pictures in it were from graduation, after she had turned blonde, and the last volume was “Starling City Bound” which Felicity wasn’t even aware her mother had. It included copies of Felicity’s original application to Queen Consolidated, a copy of her ID photo, pictures of her first apartment—the one in the Glades that was destroyed in the Undertaking.

After they were done looking through the scrapbooks, Oliver and Felicity decided to go to bed. Felicity’s mom let them have her bedroom while she slept on the couch.

“So I couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t a single picture of your dad in all those scrapbooks.” Oliver observed as they were sitting in bed together. 

“He was in some of them.” Felicity responded. “Mom just cut him out of them.”

“So what happened anyway?” Oliver asked. “Obviously they got divorced, but changing your last name and cutting him out of all the pictures is pretty significant.”

“He abandoned us. I guess my mom just didn’t want any reminders of him.” 

“And?” Oliver asked, looking over at Felicity.

Felicity sighed. “I was eight, almost nine, I think. My parents were fighting a lot. I mean, they always fought all the time for as long as I can remember, but this was different. I would sit at the top of the stairs—we lived in a house back then—and I would just listen to them scream at each other. One of our neighbors even called the cops on them once. See, my dad was a criminal. He was wanted by the police, that’s why he left. Because, apparently, not going to prison was more important to him than his wife and daughter.”

“Felicity...” 

“After that, my mom started working a lot. She was gone all the time, I hardly ever saw her. I know she was doing it to take care of me, but to me, it just felt like she abandoned me just like my dad did. I spent pretty much every single day alone. I never had any friends when I was young so I would usually just be by myself. I had this poster of Ada Lovelace on my wall. Well, it wasn’t really a poster. It was just a photo of her that I’d had blown up to poster size at Kinko’s. Anyway, whenever I was feeling really sad or lonely, I would talk to the poster...to Ada. And for the majority of my childhood, up until I went to MIT, Ada was my only friend. She was my _best_ friend. She always listened, she never judged me. She was always there for me.” 

“Felicity...I’m so sorry.” Oliver said, but Felicity just waved him off.

“It’s fine. It was forever ago.”

“Still...I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been.” 

“Honestly, the worst part was when I had to give up my dog.” Felicity stated.

“What?”

“I had a dog.” Felicity replied. “A little Jack Russell terrier named Lucky. He peed on everything, but he was a sweetheart. When my parents got divorced, my mom and I moved to an apartment that didn’t allow pets so we had to take him to a shelter. I promised myself that, if I ever got the chance, I’d try to get Lucky back, but by the time I was leaving to go to MIT, I found out that Lucky had been adopted by another family.”

“Well, at least he found a home and didn’t have to spend the rest of his life in a shelter.” Oliver commented, grabbing Felicity’s hand and rubbing soothing circles on the back of it with his thumb.

“Yeah.” Felicity nodded although she felt tears running down her cheeks.

“We can get a dog when we settle down somewhere.” Oliver stated.

“Promise?” Felicity asked.

“I promise.”

There was a brief pause between them before Oliver spoke again. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Me too.” Felicity responded. “He’s kinda the reason I’m so screwed up now. The last time I ever saw him, he told me he was going away for a while. He told me he loved me and then he walked away and I never saw him again. After that, it kinda made it hard for me to believe anyone when they told me they loved me, even my mom, because it just made me think of him and how he said ‘I love you’ before leaving me forever.” 

“Is that why you got so mad at me after I told you I loved you during the siege?” Oliver couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, that had more to do with the fact that you didn’t tell me beforehand that you were gonna say that.”

“I told you that I was going to fool Slade into taking you.” Oliver defended.

“All you said was that you were going to make Slade believe he had taken the wrong woman. You didn’t give me any more details than that.” Felicity argued.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I wasn’t lying. When I said ‘I love you’, I meant it.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Felicity responded. “I mean, I didn’t at the time, but since then. I figured Slade Wilson spent six years believing that Laurel was the love of your life and he wouldn’t have been so easily convinced otherwise by something that wasn’t true.” 

Oliver let out a small chuckle at her words and then a few more moments of silence passed between them.

“You said that, because of your dad, you have a hard time believing people when they tell you they love you.”

“Yeah.” Felicity nodded.

“Do you believe me?” Oliver asked. “I know I’m not a man of many words. I have a hard time being open about my feelings. But that’s one thing I _can_ be open and honest about: I love you.”

Felicity looked over at him and gave him a small smile. “Yeah. I believe you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I would really appreciate your feedback so please leave a comment and don’t forget to hit that kudos button!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr - oneofthosecrazygirls-fics


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